1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disc drive, and more specifically, to an optical disc drive which fixes the tray module within its housing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, the tray-in and tray-out modules of the tray module in a thin optical disc drive are operated by a dc motor or suction solenoid. Usually, the method used by the dc motor collocates the gear module with either the light sensor or the limitation switch. The dc motor mechanism is quite complete, so the cost cannot be reduced.
In the method used by a suction solenoid, the volume of the suction solenoid mechanism is quite large. A consequence of the large size is that a suction solenoid mechanism may not be employed in an optical disc drive due to limited space in the optical disc drive unless drastic changes are made to the appearance of the product. Additionally, when the suction solenoid is not supplied with the power, the elasticity of the spring on the solenoid does not easily hold the tray-in module in a stable position. The following describes an optical disc drive that uses a suction solenoid.
Please refer FIG. 1–FIG. 5. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the tray module 14 of the optical disc drive 10 that is in the tray-in location FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the tray module 14 of the optical disc drive 10 that is in the completely tray-out location. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the tray-out module 15 of the optical disc drive 10 in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a location diagram of each component when the tray module 14 of the optical disc drive 10 in FIG. 1 is in the tray-in location. FIG. 5 is a location diagram of the tray-in module 21 of optical disc drive 10 in FIG. 1 that is in the tray-out location.
The optical disc drive 10 comprises a housing 12, a tray module 14 comprising a tray 16, a tray-out module 15 set on the tray 16 for pushing the tray module 14 out of the housing 12 with respect to the bottom of the housing 12, and a tray-in module set 21 on the tray 16 for locking the tray module 14 within the housing. The tray-out module 15 comprises a pusher 18 movably set on the tray 16, an extension spring 20 with one end fixed on the tray 16 and the other end fixed on the pusher 18. The tray-in module 21 comprises a solenoid 22 fixed on the tray 16, a shaft 24 fixed on the front end of the solenoid 22, a solenoid spring 26 set on the shaft 24, a hook 28 set on the front end via the shaft 24, and a positioning point 29 set on the tray 16.
Please refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. When the tray module 14 of the optical disc drive 10 is in the tray-in location, the extension spring 20 is compressed according to how far tray 16 is within the housing 12. During that time, the extension spring is capable of pushing the tray module 14 out of the housing 12. When the solenoid 22 is not supplied with power, the solenoid spring 26 pushes the hook 28 to lock onto the positioning point 29 thereby preventing the pusher 18 from pushing the tray module 14 out of the housing 12.
Please refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 3, and FIG. 5. The tray-out process is operated via the key 27 on the panel of the optical disc drive 10. When the key 27 is pressed, the optical disc drive 10 sends a control signal to a CPU to notify the CPU; then the CPU sends another control signal to supply the solenoid 22 with power. When the solenoid is supplied with power, the solenoid 22 generates a difference in magnetic force to attract the shaft 24. The magnetic force of solenoid 22 is larger than the thrust of the solenoid spring 26, so the hook 28 will depart from the positioning point 29. When the hook 28 departs from the positioning point 29, the pusher 18 pushes the tray module 14 out of the housing 12 15–25 mm.
However, when the suction solenoid as shown in FIG. 1 is not supplied with power, the pushing force from the solenoid spring 26 is not enough to hold the tray-in module. The hook 28 and the positioning point 29 may be separated by an external force, causing the tray module 14 to come out of the housing 12.